Vadims Vasiļevskis (born January 5, 1982 in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

) is a Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

n javelin throw

Javelin throw

The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...

er, a silver medalist of 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

. Vasiļevskis achieved his best result of 90.73m on July 22, 2007 in Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, becoming the tenth longest javelin thrower of all times.

He has been coached by Valentīna Eiduka

Valentīna Eiduka

Valentīna Eiduka is a retired Latvian javelin thrower. Currently she is the coach of several notable Latvian javelin throwers, including Olympic medalists Vadims Vasiļevskis and Ainārs Kovals....

. In his early career he finished eighth at the 2000 World Junior Championships

2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics

The 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2000 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Santiago, Chile.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:...

 and competed at the 2002 European Championships

2002 European Championships in Athletics

The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany.-Track:1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |2010 |...

 without reaching the final.

Vasiļevskis was the Latvian

Latvia at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Latvia competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Latvian athletes are represented by the Latvian Olympic Committee .-Silver:* Vadims Vasiļevskis — Athletics, Men's Javelin Throw...

 flag bearer at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

. He was the biggest surprise among Latvia's medal winners in 2004 Olympics. Latvia had three competitors in javelin throw: Vasiļevskis, Ēriks Rags

Eriks Rags

Ēriks Rags is a Latvian javelin thrower. His personal best throw is 86.47 metres, achieved in July 2001 in London.-Achievements:-External links:...

 and Voldemārs Lūsis

Voldemars Lusis

Voldemārs Lūsis is a former Latvian athlete, who competed in the javelin throw. He is the son of Jānis Lūsis and Elvīra Ozoliņa. Lūsis finished in eleventh place in 2001 World Championships. He competed at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics without reaching the final. During his career he was...

, with Vasiļevskis being the youngest and the least known of the three. In Olympics, Vasiļevskis was the best of the three, throwing for 84.95 metres, two and a half meters further than his previous personal best and good enough to win a silver medal.

After the Olympic silver he finished eighth at the 2004 World Athletics Final

2004 IAAF World Athletics Final

The 2nd IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 18, and September 19, 2004.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary a week previous as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.One of...

. After an unsuccessful 2005 World Championships

2005 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin

The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on August 9 and August 10.-Medalists:-Schedule:*All times are Eastern European Time -Abbreviations:...

 where he did not reach the final round, he got fourth places fourth at the 2006 European Championships, the 2006 World Athletics Final

2006 IAAF World Athletics Final

The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006.-Results:-External links:*...

 and the 2007 World Championships

2007 World Championships in Athletics - Men's javelin throw

The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 31, 2007 and 2 September 2007 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan...

. He won the gold medal at the 2007 Summer Universiade

Athletics at the 2007 Summer Universiade

The athletics competition at the 2007 Summer Universiade was held in the Main Stadium at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, between 9 August and 14 August 2007.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medals table:-Results:******...

, and finished ninth at the 2008 Olympic Games

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's javelin throw

The Men's Javelin Throw event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 21 and 23 August at the Beijing National Stadium. The qualification mark was set at 82.50 metres....

. He was the Latvian flag bearer at the 2008 Summer Olympics as well.

Season's bests by year

• 600g
  • 55.56 m (1997)
  • 69.40 m (1998)
• 700g
  • 60.65 m (1998)
  • 74.06 m (1999)
• 800g
  • 63.82 m (1999)
  • 73.07 m (2000)
  • 73.25 m (2001)
  • 81.92 m (2002)
  • 76.81 m (2003)
  • 84.95 m (2004)
  • 81.30 m (2005)
  • 90.43 m (2006)
  • 90.73 m (2007)
  • 85.78 m (2008)
  • 90.71 m (2009)
  • 84.08 m (2010)